The List: 8 Aug 1997 (Issue 311)

The West Midlands' woman of wit describes the check-out hell of her early career.

MoVIng from BIrmIngham to London, nearly ten years ago, to pursue a career In stand-up comedy, was no easy rIde. My ﬁrst day Iob was as a supermarket cfashIeI NIghtmare Even the InterVIew was worryIng.

| thInk If I hadn't been gIggIng at nIght, that Job would have been Just enoth to send me speedIng back up that SpaghettI JunctIon, faster than you can say, 'We wanna be togetha,’ In your best BrummIe accent

No, the streets of London were most defInItely not paved WIth gold (In fact they weren't even paved In Shepherds Bush).

Thankfully EdInburgh 97! And If that goes wrong, why worry7 I’m the fastest supermarket scanner In town I'll always work!

Let's own up to the fact that there's always somethIng naggIng at us all But follow these WIse words, and some sort of happIness can't be far behInd'

The moment you look In the mIrror, tell yourself, 'Hey youl Yes, you, fIshface' You're worth somethIng You’re all rIght ' Shout It Out loud, but make sure no domestIc anImals are present. The conseQuences can be dIsturbIng.

Be more assertIve Forget, 'I wonder If I InIght pOSSIbly WIthdraw some money from my JunIor Saver Account If that’s not too much trouble ' Try sayIng 'I’d lIke to make a VVIIIIdMVIJJI' ('Put the money In the bag, mm, or the pensIoner gets It” Is goIng too far)

Be healthy Look good at all tImes Your self-esteem \NIII blossom (If you are ugly there's not much you can do about It You could always get an ugly gIrlfrIend).

If all else faIls, go see The Condos’ new show, Hey 7 Get A LIfe’ at the GIlded Balloon outpost La Belle Angele.

A secret lurks at the centre of Stephanie McKnight's new play. Neither director Karen Louise Hebden nor actor Benedick Bates will give it away. Having seen a preview of this world premiere by the London-based JFK (UK) company, I think it best to stay mum too. McKnight's unusual domestic drama is the sort of script about which the less you know going in, the better. Afterwards, it's like an itch that won't go away.

Berkoff collaborator Linda Marlowe nabs the central role, a 50-year-old bourgeois cleanaholic. Bates plays her ne'er-do-well eldest son. ’He's been smothered by her from an early age,’ explains the tall, diffident, 26-year-old actor.

'I' here is some brave writing in this play,’ Hebden says. 'Basically it’s about bad parenting. Up to a point, it could be about any dysfunctional family. Stephanie just pushes it further.‘

Hebden was responsible for JFK (UK)'s first Fringe hit in 95 - the two- handed thriller Darktales. Here, she underlines the script's elliptical, cinematic form, neatly playing tricks with time and utilising a sophisticated sound-score to offset the realistic kitchen setting. The result is a work of muted tension which, with any luck, will deepen during the run. (Donald Hutera)

There are essentIally two steps to makIng It bIg In comedy FIrst, be funny Next, get yourself a catchphrase CharlIe Chuck has managed to ac hIeve both HIs off- beam brand of mInImalIst lunacy, accompanIed by repeated use of the word 'donkey' have earned hIm legIons of admIrers — IncfludIng those who helped launch Chuck Into the publIc's psyche, James Whale and VIc 'n' Bob. 'It's me hearIng people goIng around shoutIng ”donkey",' admIts the Chuckster. ‘It's the yOLIth, maInly' For hIs solo show Chuck promIses a me of magIc — the non-MagIc CIrcle varIety -- mUSIc and mayhem. 'lII any order you Ilke,' adds Chuck, helpfully 'I use a Chuckascope and there's some aerobIcs In It ' And Just at the poInt where l was preparIng to probe the lIkelIhood of a future collaboratIon wnh CharlIe Cheese -- Chuck and Cheese -- he was off BarkIng lIke a dog. (BrIan Donaldson) I Char/Ie Chuck (Fringe) The P/easance (Venue 33) 556 6550, untI/ 30 Aug (not 28) 6 50pm, [7/[8 ([6/f7)

Adam Bloom

Not what yOu'd call a shrInkIng VIolet Is London-based comedIan Adam Bloom Last year, on hIs thIrd top to EdInburgh, the fragrant-Wuh- coandence comedIan flowered forth III hIs ﬁrst solo show A garland of excellent reVIews and a beethe's- worth of buzz ensured sell-Out houses and he’d only been In the game for two years.

'I wanted to be a comedIan sInce I was a k:d,' he admIts, 'so to get round to domg It at 23 and then at 25 have a sell-out show, performIng for a whole hour to people who have paId to see you I had to pInch myself. I don't thInk I've ever experIenced anythIng more OXCItIng '

WIth a cable teleVIsIon debut behInd hIm (Paramount's Asylum, starrIng Norman Lovett) Bloom's back, In a mostly new show -- 'about ﬁfteen mInutes In an hour Is Improwsed anyway'—- he’s all set to blossom (Andrew Burnet)